ALMOST 900 crimes have been solved in Hampshire in the past year thanks to people calling a charity to shop those responsible.

Among them were 31 calls concerning murder enquiries in the county, eventually helping police to bring suspects in one case to justice.

In total, Hampshire and Isle of Wight Crimestoppers have received a staggering 2,093 calls with potentially vital information which led to 316 people being arrested and charged during the past 12 months.

The highest number of calls came from people reporting cases of drug trafficking and supply, with 705 calls leading to 237 cases being solved and 41 people put before the courts.

Some 181 people also rang the charity to report cases of drink driving, leading to 58 arrests while 93 people shared information about disqualified and uninsured drivers, leading to 22 people being charged.

Fugitives Residents in Hampshire also made 123 calls to report the whereabouts of wanted people and fugitives on the run, leading to 76 people being captured, arrested and charged.

Daily Echo: Crimestoppers

They are just a handful of good results that have made it a record-breaking year for the Crimestoppers charity in the two counties, with figures up 20 per cent year on year. On average around six actionable calls are received by the organisation each day concerning a crime in Hampshire, leading to six arrests a week. A further six crimes are disrupted as a result of the information received.

The number of arrests overall during the past year has sharply risen – up 63 per cent on last year – and a large proportion are because of the success of the “Most Wanted” section on the charity’s website, which is replicated in the Daily Echo each week.

A text campaign that encouraged schoolchildren to turn in someone they knew to be carrying a knife also showed success, with 32 people using the system.

Of those, nine of the messages related to people already known to police while schools were advised about a further 11. Seven young people were spoken to at home or at school by officers.

Simon Theobalds, Crimestoppers project manager for Hampshire and the Isle of Wight, said he was delighted with the results: “Our call numbers have been boosted by the campaigns we have undertaken with partners. The work that has been done around knife crime with the police, the third party reporting of domestic abuse with Hampshire County Council.”

Speaking about the text campaign, he added: “Though no arrests were made, we believe we have added to the intelligence picture with this information.”